The Platform plans redevelopment of former Joe Muer site near Eastern Market

Peter Cummings says his Detroit-based The Platform LLC is under contract to purchase the former Joe Muer's Seafood restaurant site on Gratiot Avenue near Eastern Market.

The site, located on Gratiot between St. Aubin and the Dequindre Cut, is about four acres, Cummings, who founded The Platform with Dietrich Knoer, said Thursday night. The restaurant, which at one point served as many as 300,000 meals per year, closed in 1998, according to a 2011 Crain's article.

Cummings said a redevelopment is planned to include retail along the Gratiot frontage and multifamily residential units along the Dequindre Cut frontage. However, specifics about the development plan have not yet been determined.

"We are starting to work on site plans for that site, which is a key parcel, a gateway parcel to the city," he said.

It is currently owned by DVP LLC, which had planned to build a velodrome at the site but faced opposition from neighbors. Dale Hughes, who spearheaded that effort, instead moved his project to Mack Avenue at I-75. Construction started this year.

The Platform has targeted multiple Detroit neighborhoods for redevelopment projects, including the New Center area, Milwaukee Junction, Brightmoor/Old Redford, Islandview and others.

Tonight Stephen Ross and the Ford Foundation announced a funding commitment to market rate and affordable housing in the company's projects throughout Detroit.